Knicks! (and other NBA action) | Page 12 | Syracusefan.com

Knicks! (and other NBA action)

Knicks411 said:
The funny thing is; they're going to pretty much cake walk it to the finals, regardless of who the coach is. And then likely get bitch slapped.
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I think they're a paper tiger, and I think some teams like the Raptors, Heat and Pistons could take them down.
 
OttoinGrotto said:
I think they're a paper tiger, and I think some teams like the Raptors, Heat and Pistons could take them down.
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Do you? I'd be pretty surprised. They are on pace for 60 wins. Kyrie is just working his way back into the lineup. They were something like 35-3 with Kyrie/Love/Lebron playing last year int he second half, and they're 11-3 this year with Kyrie in the lineup (all 3 of those losses were to the Spurs and the Warriors). I know it's fashionable to knock them because they probably haven't achieved what they were expected to, but I still think they win the east fairly easily; assuming Kyrie/Love/Lebron are healthy come May.
 
Iso ball going to win out in Cleveland.

They'll get through the east this year. Next year they'll have to contend with the Knicks.
 
Knicks411 said:
Do you? I'd be pretty surprised. They are on pace for 60 wins. Kyrie is just working his way back into the lineup. They were something like 35-3 with Kyrie/Love/Lebron playing last year int he second half, and they're 11-3 this year with Kyrie in the lineup (all 3 of those losses were to the Spurs and the Warriors). I know it's fashionable to knock them because they probably haven't achieved what they were expected to, but I still think they win the east fairly easily; assuming Kyrie/Love/Lebron are healthy come May.
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I still look at them and see a poorly constructed team relying on guys with big limitations, and now they downgraded their HC.
 
djcon57 said:
LOL if you believe that.
"a league source"

A league source probably said MJ didn't get rid of Doug Collins too.
If Lebron wanted Blatt there, he'd be there.
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Tune in. http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/live

I gotta believe LeBron wasn't the biggest Blatt fan and there's no question he -- and the players -- are closer to Lue, a former player and Doc Rivers disciple who has been talked about as a head coach in waiting for several years. He was runner-up to Blatt for the Cavs job ... and Blatt was hired pre-LBJ, his job was to try to take Kyrie, Dion (oy), et al, to a bit higher level.

Blaming LeBron's convenient, easy, lazy, maybe there's some merit, but, to me, it's a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe the owner and gm weren't pleased with Blatt either. Maybe Love wasn't either. Blatt looked miserable, out of sorts, lost at times. I'm sure LBJ's not sitting shiva for Blatt, but I wouldn't put this solely on him.

FWIW, the ESPN reporter, Brian Windhorst, who says LeBron was not consulted about this has covered him since high school. Windhorst went to James' high school, albeit a bit before him, and covered him for the Akron Beacon Journal and and Cleveland Plain Dealer before ESPN hired him to cover James and the Heat. He's closer to LeBron and his inner circle than most reporters.
 
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MikeSU02 said:
Says Woj. For the last year regarding Blatt and Bron.
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As a LeBron fan since high school. I've seen Woj make misstatement after misstatement after misstatement about him for years.

I'm watching the Cavs' gm David Griffin's press conference right now, he become passionate when the notion of LeBron as a "coach killer" came up. Griffin says LeBron was not consulted, nor was any one else other than the owner, Gilbert.

Griffin says it was his decision, that the narrative that LeBron runs the team simply is false. Is LeBron sad over this? Probably not. But taking aim at him for everything is lame, lazy and, to boot, probably inaccurate.
 
If you don't think Lebron was consulted on this, well, I don't know what to say. Does it mean he was the only one making the decision? not saying that. but not consutling him? i gotta call BS.
OttoinGrotto said:
I still look at them and see a poorly constructed team relying on guys with big limitations, and now they downgraded their HC.
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Agree with the first part, not sure on the second. But even for all of that; they've been hugely successful and I dont see anyone in the east on their level
 
Fireball Jr. said:
As a LeBron fan since high school. I've seen Woj make misstatement after misstatement after misstatement about him for years.

I'm watching the Cavs' gm David Griffin's press conference right now, he become passionate when the notion of LeBron as a "coach killer" came up. Griffin says LeBron was not consulted, nor was any one else other than the owner, Gilbert.

Griffin says it was his decision, that the narrative that LeBron runs the team simply is false. Is LeBron sad over this? Probably not. But taking aim at him for everything is lame, lazy and, to boot, probably inaccurate.
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We can agree to disagree. It's fine.

Bron is the most powerful person in that org besides the owner, imo.

I'll kill Bron for these moves, but I also give him credit for his play. He should have been mvp of the finals.

I love the NBA. I enjoy LeBron. He's a generational talent.

I just think he's surrounded himself with yes-men and doesn't have an owner and GM that will stand up to him like Mickey/Riley or the Jerrys with MJ.

Is what it is. They aren't constructed to beat any of the top three teams in the west. Whether that's Blatt's fault, Bron's fault or Griffin's fault - doesn't really change reality.
 
MikeSU02 said:
We can agree to disagree. It's fine.

Bron is the most powerful person in that org besides the owner, imo.

I'll kill Bron for these moves, but I also give him credit for his play. He should have been mvp of the finals.

I love the NBA. I enjoy LeBron. He's a generational talent.

I just think he's surrounded himself with yes-men and doesn't have an owner and GM that will stand up to him like Mickey/Riley or the Jerrys with MJ.

Is what it is. They aren't constructed to beat any of the top three teams in the west. Whether that's Blatt's fault, Bron's fault or Griffin's fault - doesn't really change reality.
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It is LeBrons fault - he dictated who comes in and who doesn't

You think Tristan Thompson gets that money if LeBron is not dictating things?

Tyronn Lue to quote deadspin commentator, just pulled a Lue D'etat on Blatt ... Lue has been playing this angle with the players with his blatant disrespect of him since day one. LeBron and Lue NEVER respected Blatt -- Blatt's mistake was keeping Lue around because he was a 'players coach'.
 
MikeSU02 said:
We can agree to disagree. It's fine.

Bron is the most powerful person in that org besides the owner, imo.

I'll kill Bron for these moves, but I also give him credit for his play. He should have been mvp of the finals.

I love the NBA. I enjoy LeBron. He's a generational talent.

I just think he's surrounded himself with yes-men and doesn't have an owner and GM that will stand up to him like Mickey/Riley or the Jerrys with MJ.

Is what it is. They aren't constructed to beat any of the top three teams in the west. Whether that's Blatt's fault, Bron's fault or Griffin's fault - doesn't really change reality.
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FWIW, a summation of what Griffin had to say about an hour ago. http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index...avaliers_general_ma_9.html#incart_maj-story-2

 
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I wonder if there was any undercutting of Blatt by Lue, who really wanted the gig when Blatt got it?
 
Fireball Jr. said:
Please share the documentation.
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I'm looking now. He turned his back on him numerous times during games and ignored him during other games. Lue is Brons boy. I am looking back ondeadspin and gawker
 
orangenauburn said:
I'm looking now. He turned his back on him numerous times during games and ignored him during other games. Lue is Brons boy. I am looking back ondeadspin and gawker
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Lue is Doc Rivers' boy, one of the most respected young coaches in the league, he's been talked about as a head coach in waiting for several years. He long ago was deemed a rising star, no need to undermine.
(http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/72749/the-nbas-top-head-coaching-prospects)

After three seasons under Rivers in Boston and Los Angeles, Lue has quickly established himself as a whole-package coaching prospect. He was pursued vigorously by the Cavs in their head-coaching search last spring, and ultimately finished as a strong runner-up to Blatt, making such a strong impression during the process that Cleveland offered him a deal in excess of $6 million to join them as associate head coach. Who better to complement an Ivy League-educated, often stubborn, first-time 55-year-old head coach who'd spent his career in Europe than a former NBA vet with a passionate knowledge of the NBA game and its rhythms to whom players flock?

"He respects the work that's required to do the job and he has the gift of being able to verbalize things to players in a straightforward way without being offensive," Rivers says. "He sees things in games a lot of people can't see. He'd see opportunities for us -- in games, watching film, observing -- and would bring them to me. He has a chance to be very special."

When Rivers took over in Los Angeles in July 2013, he quickly dispatched for Lue, who spent the entire summer breaking down the league, and meticulously studying the Clippers' core. His observations were instrumental in building the architecture for a defense that finished the season ranked seventh in efficiency.

Clippers players loved Lue, and he's earned the trust of a Cavs roster with several combustible parts. By all accounts, he has been crucial in maintaining relative order and harmony in the locker room. Lue is on a four-year deal, but it's difficult to imagine he'll still be the associate head coach in Cleveland three seasons from now.
 
Lue undermined Blatt. Period.

He encouraged the resentment of Blatt and did nothing to support him.

He is LeBrons favorite and that is known.

There is no reason Blatt should have been fired, other than LeBron is using him as the fall guy for the Cavs failures to compete with two true teams (Spurs, Warriors) when LeBron has created cliques on the Cavs. Look at the treatment of Kevin Love by King James ... Look at how he dictates contracts (I.e Tristan Thompson). He has his boys and if you are not one of them he will run you out of town.
 
orangenauburn said:
http://deadspin.com/hey-what-happened-to-the-juicy-lebron-quote-in-this-es-1676269059

http://deadspin.com/david-blatt-compares-himself-to-a-fighter-pilot-keeps-1703668913

http://deadspin.com/report-cavaliers-players-ignore-openly-gripe-about-da-1679460529

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12165081/nba-reeling-cleveland-cavaliers-way-course

LeBrons crew would communicate through Lue instead of Blatt (buried in the articles)

It is no secret thatBron hated the Blatt hire from the get go
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LeBron hated the Blatt hire from the get-go? LeBron was still in Miami when Blatt was hired. If he hated it so much, why did he go back to Cleveland.

And those links are hardly documentation that Lue undercut Blatt. If anything, he helped cover for him. Grabbing Blatt before he tried to call a timeout that didn't exist is what any smart assistant should do.
 
orangenauburn said:
Lue undermined Blatt. Period.

He encouraged the resentment of Blatt and did nothing to support him.

He is LeBrons favorite and that is known.

There is no reason Blatt should have been fired, other than LeBron is using him as the fall guy for the Cavs failures to compete with two true teams (Spurs, Warriors) when LeBron has created cliques on the Cavs. Look at the treatment of Kevin Love by King James ... Look at how he dictates contracts (I.e Tristan Thompson). He has his boys and if you are not one of them he will run you out of town.
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Well, if you say so, it must be true. I didn't realize you're so close to the situation.
 
Did you read the articles ? Did you read where Lue turned his back on Blatt? Did you see the insubordination displayed repeatedly.
 

Just going to highlight this comment from NBA reddit post about this situation.

Enjoy Bron's take on Blatt.
 
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